Women's Basketball Returns to Fleming Gymnasium to Host ETSU

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GREENSBORO, N.C. – UNCG women’s basketball is back in Fleming Gymnasium for the first time in two weeks as it hosts the ETSU Buccaneers Thursday evening at 5:30. The Spartans enter the contest at 9-13 and 3-4 in Southern Conference play after defeating Western Carolina last Saturday. ETSU enters the game currently in second-place in the SoCon at 13-9 and 6-1 in SoCon play.

Tomorrow’s game will feature live stats and a video stream with links on the UNCG women’s basketball schedule page. Stats are courtesy of UNCGStats.com and the video stream is available via the SoCon Digital Network.

Nadine Soliman (Cairo, Egypt/Mokattam Language School) leads the Spartan offense. Soliman averages 13.9 points per game and is coming off of a career-best 33-point performance in the victory over Western Carolina. Soliman is shooting 41-percent from the floor on the season and raised her 3-point field goal percentage to 30-percent after going 7-for-7 Saturday.

Also averaging double figures is senior center Ije Ajemba (Lanham, Md./Old Dominion) Ajemba adds 11.5 points per game and grabs 12.5 rebounds per game. She leads the SoCon in all individual rebounding categories and ranks fifth nationally in rebounds per game. She is also 12th in the nation with 11 double-doubles, setting a new school record for double-doubles in a season. She is 20th nationally with 4.1 offensive rebounds per game, 5th with 8.4 defensive rebounds per game and is fourth national with 274 total rebounds.

Coming on strong in the SoCon season has been sophomore forward Te’ja Twitty (Rutherfordton, N.C./Rutherfordton-Spindale Central) Twitty has scored in double figures in three-straight games, including a 17-point effort against Western Carolina. She has two double-doubles on the season, including a 10-point 12-rebound effort in the victory over Wofford.

Rebounding has been a focal point for Trina Patterson’s Spartans. UNCG outrebounds its opponents by an average of +4.8 per game, second best in the league. The edge in rebounding has led to 273 second chance points on the season.

Entering tomorrow’s game, the Bucs have won six of their last seven. Prior to the start of the SoCon schedule, ETSU had lost four of its last five before winning five-straight games. Mercer is only team to have beaten the Bucs in the first half of the SoCon season.

The Bucs outscore their opponents by an average of 1.3 per game and are second in the league with 69.5 points per game average. ETSU shoots 38-percent from the field and just 26-percent from 3-point range.

Individually, two Bucs average double figures, led by reigning SoCon Player of the Week Tianna Tarter. Tarter scores 17.3 points per game and has dished out a team-high 91 assists while grabbing 4.8 rebounds per game. Erica Haynes-Overton has been an instant impact player in her freshman season. Haynes-Overton adds 14.5 points per game and shoots 46-percent from the field. She has grabbed 4.8 rebounds per game and dished out 42 assists. Shy Copney adds 7.9 points per game off the bench and leads the Bucs with 43 made 3-pointers

The Buccaneer defense gives up an average of 68.2 points per game and leads the league with 257 steals, averaging 11.7 per game. They have a +4.91 turnover margin, second-best in the SoCon ranking 35th overall. 257 steals ranks eighth best in the nation. Individually, Haynes-Overton is fifth in the nation with 4.0 steals per game, with Tarter coming in 35th with 2.77 steals per game. Those averages rank first and second in the league.